Raised Among His Peers
by Ulltima101
Summary: A retelling of Naruto if he was raised by Kakashi primarily and the Clan Heads of Konoha secondarily. Follow his journey with a friend group he is willing to do anything to protect and a dark shadow hanging over his head Always lurking in the background just waiting on him to make a single mistake so it can pounce. Smart!Naruto Powerful!Naruto Diverse!Naruto Hero!Naruto Good!Sasuke
1. A Meeting of great and powerful Minds

The Council Chambers, a place where the most powerful amongst the Village Hidden in the Leaves gathered to try and lead the village to a better more prosperous life. Normally these regal chairs are home to some of the most important and composed people you may ever meet in your entire lifetime. The large round table that sat between them had been there since the building itself had been built, some stories even claimed that the First Hokage had grown it specifically there so it may never be moved. These majestic chambers were the homes to such important business that it normally pressed upon those who sat at the table so heavily it was hard to even speak sometimes. That is what makes the current scene of absolute chaos, of yelling voices and hands beating on that magnificent table such a startling site.

It was this sight that Hiruzen Sarutobi walked into, he was once again wearing the white and red robes of his previous career. It had been years since he retook his job six long years back under the hat. The occupants of the room didn't even notice his entrance he noted, to enthralled in their argument. He quirked an eyebrow in amusement it was not often that "The Professor" was completely ignored. He dined to, instead of making a show of his entrance, wait and listen to see what the argument was about.

" The boy is a weapon, Jinchuriki are meant to be used to become powerful tools for the ninja forces." A gruff voice belonging to one Shimura Danzo announced. The announcement was met with looks of disdain, fury, and an ever increasing pressure in the room that it was beggining to become difficult to ignore.

" The boy is a child he should not be forced to become one of your mindless drones." A smooth voice was heard arguing his point. Hiashi Hyuuga, the leader of the Hyuuga clan and a master of their fighting style, The Gentle Fist. The man's stubbornness was legendary and one of the only tings that could sway it were the quiet words of his wife who sat behind him.

" Naruto doesn't deserve any of this. Minato would be turning in his grave if he heard you people." A particularly loud female voice cut across the din of the argument. The voice was attached to the feral looking Tsume Inuzuka, the current clan head of the Inuzuka clan. Fiercely loyal was an understatement when referring to that clan, they had been the personal guard of the Yondaime Hokage so it was really no strange occurrence that Tsume felt so protective of young Naruto who was in fact his son.

" It is most strange how you would attempt to claim young Naruto this early on, if your plans were… wholesome Danzo-sama. Perhaps we would be more likely to agree if you were to explain to us exactly what it was you wanted to do with him." The cold calculating voice of Shibi Aburame said gaining him a few looks of surprise. The Aburame clan head was normally a stoic, always there but rarely speaking up.

" The obvious reason he wont tell us what he wants to do is because we would object to whatever it is. *Yawn* He hopes to as the phrase goes, slid it under the rug, but what he fails to realize is that attempting to spirit away young Naruto-kun would never work." The voice was relaxed, but if you looked underneath the underneath you could hear the note of steel delivered on a cloud of velvet. The voice belonged to Shikaku Nara, the current clan head of the Nara clan and the Jonin Commander. This was a man who prided himself on getting his work done efficiently so he could go back to sleep.

" As if we would allow such a thing." There was open contempt in that voice that shocked many in the room. This voice belonged to Inoichi Yamanka, Clan head of the Yamanka and Head of the T&I Department of Konoha.

" Truly he must think us fools if he expects this thinly veiled attempt to pass by without notice." This voice was deep in baritone and seemed to hang in the air for a few moments after the words had been uttered. The person it belonged to was none other than Choza Akimichi, the clan head of the Akimichi clan and a large part of the RnD department for Konoha's food output. This man hand single handedly produced the current version of soldier pills that were 11% more effective than the ones used by other countries.

What was even more interesting were those who rose no voice to the current argument. The black hair, blank face, and blood red eyes of Fugaku Uchiha were hard to miss. He cut quite an imposing figure sitting there back straightened and eyes wide as he observed the proceedings with a calm air of disapproval. Who that disapproval was aimed at was hard to distinguish, but it was definitely there. Next up was the blank white porcelain mask of the Anbu Commander. They sat in a chair slightly separated from the others observing. If they chose to speak the voice would come out modulated and distorted one of the many tools used to keep their identity a secret. They turned their head whenever someone spoke a constant reminder that their reaction time was not something to be questioned as they were always the first to recognize a new speaker. When Hiruzen had walked in they had looked straight at him and dipped their head before returning their attention to the room in general.

Finally, Hiruzen made his presence known with a calm cough as he took his seat. Instantly the room quieted as all attention was turned to him.

" I call this emergency meeting of the ninja clans of Konoha to begin officially. What is the purpose we were summoned here?" His voice was smooth and powerful for his advanced age.

" I am petitioning for the Kyuubi Jinchuriki to be placed in my care so that I may begin training him as to what a true ninja should be." Danzo's voice announced as he stood by his chair. Hiruzen had to try hard not to roll his eyes at the man. He knew that this day would be coming, but he never expected Danzo to be so straightforward about this.

" Well as I have been listening to the room already well in discussion before I brought this meeting to order I am aware that the Clan Heads do not agree to this request, but there are others who must be asked first." Hiruzen's voice was perfectly even a true professional he gave away nothing of his own thoughts on the subject.

" Firstly will be the boy's current guardian who is, I'm assuming, on his way here right now?" As he finished the sentence there was a knock on the door and in walked a young man with spiked vertical silver-gray hair. He bowed to those assembled as was his duty and then stood at attention. This young man stood taller than most, but still not at his full adult height. His arms were muscled and well-toned showing a certain strength to him. The way he moved his eye over the room quickly scanning spoke positively of his ninja sense even with one eye covered. Overall a very skilled and powerful young man. This was Kakashi Hatake twenty years old and a powerful ninja in his own right.

" Ah the man of the hour indeed. Kakashi-san the matter has been raised of Danzo taking Naruto under his care what are your thoughts on this?" Hiruzen held back the smirk when Kakashi's jaw tightened.

" I would firmly argue against such a thing, as I am well able to take care of a young child, and am a more than suitable candidate to have him in my home as I was the student of his father and can provide him with an important connection to his family as he grows older." His voice was not as even as he had hoped and shook with some anger at the accusation that Naruto would be taken away from him.

" Ahh Kakashi-san I just worried for your career and what would happen to young Naruto if something happened while you were out on a mission, I understand that you are an Anbu on leave for right now. I assure you that I'm more than well aware of what kind of missions you may be given. I am aware that you have been taking reduced rank missions and as such have not been able to completely fulfill your duties as an Anbu agent. It has been years since you have taken a proper S or even High A rank mission." Danzo's voice was like honey all smooth, sweet, and disarming.

"…" the silence was deafening in Kakashi's ears as he tried to come up with something to say, the silence droned on as he saw Danzo's smile get larger and larger as he could not think of a possible reason why he should turn down such a supposedly good natured offer.

" I perhaps have an alternate plan if Kakashi-san does not mind it. I'm sure he was just trying to figure out how to word his worry that giving Naruto to one person may unduly affect the boy negatively. My solution to such a problem is that all those Clan Heads that are willing may rotate Naruto-kun's care so that he is rather well rounded." The room was shocked into silence at the speaker. It was unheard of what he was suggesting and especially for he himself to probably volunteer made many among the crowd confused, after all who had ever heard of a Nara willing to do extra work.

Kakashi never one to be slow on the uptake quickly nodded " Nara-san is correct, I was attempting to find a wording that was not insulting to you Danzo-sama, while still voicing my concern." The lie was well told, but it was still a lie told to a room of senior ninja. As such it was seen through almost immediately but calling him out on it would be incredibly rude and such it flew even though it had no right to.

Suddenly a new voice let out a chuckle from the shadows as a large man with flowing white hair appeared. This was Jiraiya of the Sannin a legendary shinobi in his own right and probably among the most powerful ninja in the room. "Ahh Jiraiya-kun good of you to join us, as Naruto's official godparent your input is off course highly sought after in this matter." Hiruzen said airily.

Danzo's mouth clenched in barely suppressed fury, he was to be countered at every turn and his every move checked. Clearly he had underestimated the council on this matter and he would pay for it by losing access to a powerful weapon he could use to keep Konoha safe his way. There was little he could do now but attempt to save face and so that was what he did.

"Ahh perfect timing Jiraiya-san, I merely worry for the boy's growth. In my care he would grow to be a truly outstanding ninja such as yourself and that was truly my goal." It was not quite the most dignified thing, but he was a skilled liar and even if everyone in the room knew he had ulterior motives none of them could prove it. The air of hospitality in the room worked both ways just as no one could call out Kakashi on his lie neither could they call out Danzo on his.

"Well as the boy's official godparent I give my full go ahead to the clans rotating taking care of him, it will do Naruto some good to be with other children his age. Being cooped up much isn't good for such a young child." Jiraiya answered jubilantly his voice booming through the Council Chamber.

" Well then I would say that the matter is settled, let us take a note now on who would be willing to volunteer their time to take care of young Naruto." Hiruzen said once again taking control of the flow of conversation. His surprise was palpable when ever person in the room raised their hand, excluding Danzo. The most surprising of which being the Anbu Commander. When Hiruzen gave them a questioning look they answered back in that strange static modulated voice

" It is not outside of my range of power to watch the boy in dire situations, and there are many Anbu who are kept on standby in the village for security reasons. It will be good practice for them, as Namikazi-san has already proven quite adept at evading even some of the seasoned Jounin. If Naruto is ever full of energy and wishes to burn it up, I would consider it a training exercise for the Anbu to catch him." They stated while simply placing one hand outside their cloak and rotating it at the wrist in a sort of movement meaning whatever.

" Well then all the names have been noted, if and when Kakashi-kun has need of you we will have an informal gathering to determine who will care for young Naruto." Hiruzen said in a clear dismissal. The room cleared quickly after that leaving on Jiraiya, Hiruzen, and Kakashi.

" Thank you so much both of you. I would have rather taken Naruto from the village then let him be taken in by Danzo." Kakashi's voice was full of relief and both of them smiled at him.

" We care just as much for him as you do Kakashi, how is he anyway?" Jiraiya answered him back.

"Currently he is playing with some of my Nin-ken and being watched over by Yuhi-San. The little tyke will be a heart breaker when he grows up, I can tell already. All the women that I have any kind of contact with love him to death." Kakashi's voice was full of mirth at the revelation and he shared a quick laugh with the other men in the room before excusing himself to go back to Naruto.

When he arrived back at his estate he walked into to see Naruto riding one of his larger Nin-ken with Kurenai chasing after him playfully. After watching them for a few minutes he whistled and his Nin-ken ran over to him letting Naruto climb down and cling to his leg.

" Tou-san, you're back! What happened at the meeting?" Naruto's cheery voice filled the air.

"Well Naruto, your going to be making some new friends soon. From now on, you are going to be spending some time with some of the clan head's family's while I go back to work."

" Oh… Okay!" Naruto replied full of excitement for the coming time spent with some of the people he knew.

" Does that mean you'll be leaving for a long time?" The whisper that came out didn't seem to fit on his face it seemed out of place.

" I hope not, but even if I am you will have plenty of friends to talk to and hang out with. Including Yuhi-san and Mitarashi-san. I promise I will always try to hurry home to see you Ototo."

The evening wound down from there with Kurenai talking with Kakashi for a short period before giving Naruto a big hug and making her own way home.

"Things will surely be different from here out." Kakashi muttered to himself as he tucked a completely wiped Naruto into bed.


	2. Blonde Hair in the Sun

It wasn't three days later that Kakashi was sent out on a high ranking A mission, that would leave him outside the village for a week. Naruto pouted when he was told and hid on top of the house until Kakashi was forced to summon a Nin-Ken to help him search for the boy. Naruto had grabbed one of his disguise blankets and used it rather effectively to shield himself from view next to the top of the roof which Kakashi figured out after being led there by his Nin-Ken.

"Come on down Naruto, there's no reason to be upset. This just means you get to meet some new friends." Kakashi said from the other side of the blanket. His voice was soothing trying to coax Naruto out of his hiding spot. It didn't take to much longer for Naruto's bright blonde hair to peak out at him and red puffy eyes were slowly revealed next.

" I just don't want you going out and getting hurt Ni-san." His voice was small and scared and shook as he spoke. A fresh round of tears was just starting to fall when Kakashi wrapped him in a hug and didn't let him go. He held him for a time, letting him cry as he rubbed his hand over Naruto's back slowly. Eventually he stopped and Kakashi gave him a smile before answering him.

"Naruto you just have to trust me to come back to you okay? I promise I will always do everything I can to come back, and you know what we say about Ninja who don't keep their word to comrades?" Kakashi said slowly making sure Naruto was following.

" They're worse than trash…" Naruto finished sniffling. He ran his arm over his eyes drying them, the puffiness was already fading quickly and before long Naruto looked just like he always did.

"That's right that's why we never break our word. Now let's get down and head to the meeting where we get to watch silly adults fight over who you get to stay the week with." Kakashi finished as he scooped Naruto up in his arms and jumped down from the roof easily landing on his feet. As soon as they touched the ground Naruto was off in his own little blur of white and orange. He was fast, faster than any kid his age should be even for a ninja, the current thought from the best personal healers around, excluding of course Tsunade who had not returned to the village in many years, was that the Kyuubi healing him had caused it. Naruto being the rambunctious child he was had climbed his way up on top of a light post and was hanging onto it and looking out over the village when he lost his grip and fell badly. As Kakashi had rushed him to the Hospital he had already seen his legs straighten as if set. The healing stopped there though and the hospital was able to patch him up in two days afterwards, but ever since that moment Naruto was the fastest child in Konoha. This was much to the chagrin of the ninja population who would try and chase him after his pranks. So far only a few had managed to catch him, and when caught Naruto was still raring to go.

It took them ten minutes to make it to the unofficial meeting and they were greeted warmly when they arrived walking through the door with Naruto half a step behind Kakashi.

" Ahh Naruto-san, Kakashi-kun good to see you both." The warm voice of Tsume greeted them. She was standing there with her large dog laying at her feet which Naruto instantly began moving towards. He stopped though and looked up at Tsume who nodded her head at which point Naruto stuck his hand out so that the dog could sniff it.

The dog sniffed it casually and then lowered his head back down so Naruto could pet him "You are wise to seek permission and allow me to judge you, before you moved so close young one." The voice rumbled out. Naruto looked straight at the dog before grinning and saying "Kakashi Ni-Chan taught me all about ninja animals with his own summons, but I didn't know that others could talk!"

The dog cracked its on visible eye and looked at Naruto closely." I am the only one of the Inuzuka hounds who has the ability currently, you could say that I am a rarity." After saying that he moved his head slightly so Naruto could scratch behind his ears and he relaxed wagging his tail in contentment.

Naruto didn't pet him for to long though before he was off and around introducing himself to anyone he came across. This lasted for a few minutes before the door opened and a young woman walked in with a small girl behind her.

" My apologies for being late, Hiashi-Kun had an urgent matter come up, but he did not want to leave you all waiting so I volunteered to go in his sted. " Hitomi Hyuga was the picture of serene grace and fluid beauty she moved among the people seamlessly shacking hands and answering questions with smiles. When Naruto came up to them to introduce himself she greeted him kindly and also introduced her daughter Hinata who waved at him from slightly behind her mother and gave him a small smile.

" Alright since everyone is here, I suppose we can begin. I know you all would like a chance to foster Naruto for the next week, but I'll have no fighting. Surely we can work out some sort of schedule that appeases everyone." Kakashi announced. At the sound of his voice the group moved in to form a more compact circle with everyone present and accounted for.

" Hmm what would be fair?" The voice of Inoichi Yamanaka carried easily through the mostly quiet room. " Perhaps we should let Naruto-san choose, since he is the one who will be most affected after all."

" Ahh a wonderful idea Inoichi", the voice of Mikoto Uchiha the matron of the Uchiha clan said. Her eyes were of course dyed the red of her clan's Doujutsu, this did little to take away from her beauty, and indeed some said it just enhanced it.

Naruto was watching all of this and wondered who he would like to go with. Everyone seemed so nice it was hard to choose between them. He looked around the room once more before he made his way to Inoichi and put his hand up to his in the Konoha Symbol of Comradery(finger and middle finger held out). Inoichi smiled down at him and linked his pointer and middle fingers with Naruto's much smaller fingers.

" I would like to stay with Inoichi-san and his family first if that is okay?" He turned back to Kakashi questioningly and he could have sworn he saw a tear threatening to escape his brother's eye but it was gone the next second.

"Of course Naruto, if that is what you want you can of course stay with them. Inoichi-san thank you for allowing Naruto to stay with you this week, I'm sure he will be the perfect guest inside the house. Outside the house though, well I hope you're ready for some exercise." Kakashi laughed out. He handed Inoichi a scroll with a weeks' worth of Naruto's clothes and such and then leaned down and opened his arms. It didn't take but a moment for Naruto to tackle his brother into a hug. It lasted for a while and several of the women in the room cooed and awed at them.

" Come back soon okay?!" Naruto's voice rang out as Kakashi wished him farewell and made his way out of the town and onward to his mission.

The gathering soon began to break down as people made their own ways home, wishing each other well. Naruto followed Inoichi through the winding streets closely. He knew where the Inoichi flower shop was, but he had never been to their clan grounds before. It took them the better part of twenty minutes to wind their way through the crowds. Along the way Inoichi told him about his clan and what they did for Konoha, he spoke at length about his wife, and his little princess Ino.

" The set of gates they stood in front of were very well made, Naruto noticed as he saw Inoichi put his hand up to them before he saw a short arc of electricity jump to his hand. Naruto jumped up and pulled Inoichi away quickly by the arm before noticing that Inoichi wasn't freaking out, he was actually chuckling.

"Excellent reaction time Naruto, you will make a fine ninja one day, but for today it's alright. This is simply the way the gate recognizes who you are so it can let you in. As of today you will be added to the list of people allowed onto the Yamanaka Clan grounds once we make it inside." Inoichi answered to him as he helped Naruto up off the ground from where he had pulled Inoichi down with him. The gates swung open shortly after and Naruto was lead off to the side inside where he saw what looked like a strange bowl with squiggly lines all over it.

"This Naruto is a special bowl that has a seal on it, all you have to do is place your hands inside of it and push down. From now on the gate will recognize you so you may come and go." He answered to the questioning look on Naruto's face. Naruto nodded at him before placing his hands in the bowl where he felt a strange sense of liquid moving over his hands. After a few moments he felt the strange sensation pass and he withdrew his hands.

" Now Naruto this is a big responsibility you've been given, clan grounds are very special places and unless invited by someone special inside the clan you should never let anyone other than yourself or Kakashi-san in." Inoichi explained as he began walking up the paving stoned path. The grounds lead through several flower fields and large houses. He saw tons of people out relaxing, kids playing, and older folks moving about. Naruto knew that they must be part of the Yamanka clan as they were on the clan grounds, but the other thing that gave it away was that everyone had some sort of shade of blonde hair. The walk only lasted a few more minutes before they stopped in front of the largest building Naruto had seen so far.

" This is my house Naruto, if you ever need somewhere to go you can always feel free to come here." Inoichi pushed open the door and opened his mouth to shout, but didn't make it before a small fast moving shape with platinum blonde hair hit him square in the chest. Inoichi let out a grunt but caught the fast moving object and held her.

"DADDY! You're back, I missed you. I haven't seen you all day today, how was work, did you talk to mister Nara, how about mister Akamichi? " The girl babbled on for a few more moments before Inoichi gave her a kiss on the forehead and said "Calm down Princess, I'm back and I have the next two days off. Yes I saw both of them today. We have a special guest you should introduce yourself to."

Naruto looked up at the girl in her father's arms before she clambered down, and slightly bowed to him. " Hi my name's Ino Yamanaka, its nice to meet you Namikaze-san." Naruto goggled at this girl who introduced herself so easily before he returned the bow to her and said " Thank you for inviting me to your home, It's a pleasure my name is Naruto Namikaze."

" Oh he's so cute." A female voice called out from another room. The voice was given a face and body a few moments later as the woman walked into the room. "Hello Deary, my name is Dorothy, I'm Ino's Mother and Inoichi's wife."

Naruto bowed to her as well " Its an honor to be invited into your home like this. Inoichi talked a lot about you two on our way here, about how he was proud to be married to such a beautiful and important lady and how his daughter had already shown great promise in several ninja skills. I'm truly thankful to be allowed to stay while Kakashi-ni is away." Naruto explained as he began looking around the room. He followed as they all moved into the kitchen and sat down around a nice table.

" Well my Inoichi is a charmer, and so are you. You seem to know just what to say to get the best effect." Dorothy said as she moved around the kitchen gathering up the ingredients to make sandwiches. " Are you hungry dears I was just about to make Ino lunch and I have plenty here."

"If it wouldn't be an inconvenience yes I would like a sandwich." Naruto said slowly. He was still working on this being respectful thing. He didn't like it much he preferred to just go ahead and say how he really felt, but it was obvious that these people would appreciate his cutesy.

The conversation wound down as they ate lunch, and Naruto was given a tour of the house and was shown the room he would be staying in. It was a nice room with plenty of light and was decorated tastefully. The bed was soft and he allowed himself to sit on the edge of it as he looked around. He didn't get much time to relax though as Ino knocked on the door

"Naruto-San do you want to come play with me and some of the other Yamanaka kids?" Naruto looked up at her and smiled before agreeing and racing her outside where she led them a little ways away toward a bunch of kids.

After the initial greetings and pleasantries, they started playing ninja doing cool moves and generally attempting to outdo each other. Naruto won, in his own opinion, by performing his brothers infamous Chidori technique when he defeated the enemy child pretending to be a Kumo nin. They continued playing, swapping sides back and forth until the sun was setting low in the sky and they were running out of energy. Naruto though was still brim full and kept running around jumping off of trees and generally doing cool stuff until he landed next to Ino on the ground with the other kids. he laid there next to her as the sun was setting which lit up the sky in glowing reds and oranges. This would be a fun week!


	3. Lazy Days and Harsh Nights

The next few days seemed to last forever to Naruto. The mornings consisted of him eating breakfast with Inoichi and his family who all were excellent people. Afterwards he would help Ino do her chores, after he learned that she would get to play earlier if he did so, and they would charge outside into the sunlight. They played all kinds of different games, from Ninja in which they would attempt to subdue each other in which Naruto being faster than Ino made it slightly unfair. Target Practice with blunted kunai and shuriken. In which Ino proved the better of the two of them by a wide margin to Naruto's chagrin.

" You know one day, I'll beat you." Naruto's voice announced with his usual energy he had hit fifteen of the twenty targets while Ino had hit every single target. She was standing on his right with her hands on her hips sticking her tongue out at him. The sun was shining down on them through the trees lighting up the little clearing they stood in. Naruto could hear the yells of the other children not terribly far away from them, they were younger, they were still just out doing little kid things. Naruto and Ino however were doing more grown up exercises, they had both been told that going into the ninja academy would be tough and were given some pointers on what they could do to help prepare themselves.

"Hmmm, maybe. I've heard stories about how your dad was like super amazing at throwing weapons." Ino replied back. Naruto was in a black t-shirt and shorts, that contrasted sharply with his bright blue eyes and sunshine yellow hair. He was slouched a bit with one hand behind his head smiling.

"Yeah, Kakashi-Nii says when I get older he will train me to throw like dad did. I guess he has all kind of training from both my mom and dad to pass down to me." Naruto said as he walked up to the targets and began pulling the kunai and shuriken out of them. It wasn't much of a task as they wouldn't go to deep in the target due to their blunted tips. Still it took him a few minutes to gather up all forty of them. While he did this Ino let herself fall back onto the warm grass and let out a sigh.

" So Naruto… What do you think the academy will be like?" Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet, and Naruto turned towards her before replying

" Well from what I've overheard and been told in the mornings there will be normal classes such as mathematics and language/calligraphy, in the afternoons we will do actual exercises and ninja training." He assured her as he walked back. He tried to make his voice uplifting and based on the way she smiled as she took her practice tools back, he figured he had succeeded. They took a few more throws at the targets landing some hits before calling it and heading back towards the house.

As they approached the house they both looked around, children were running around enjoying the warm weather and freedom of the day. Naruto had spent four days here enjoying his time. Everything here was so interesting, from the flower fields that he just wanted to lay down in and be surrounded by the smells, to the multitudes of people who all seemed to at least know of him. Naruto frowned to himself, while he was happy Kakashi-Nii has kept him safe he had also kept him isolated from the greater public. If he had known that he would enjoy being around people as much as he had he would have asked to be left free to wander among people years ago.

A short time later after reaching the house Ino was walking in front of him leading him to the gate where he could already see Ino's mom waiting on them. Today they would be going to meet Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akamichi, the sons of the two current clan heads. While the kids went about and played the wives would keep an eye on them and spend some much needed "woman time" together he had heard. He was a little nervous to meet two new people at once but Ino reassured him saying

"They're really easy to get along with. Shikamaru likes to lay around and look at clouds while relaxing, Choji likes to wrestle and play around a ton and he loves talking about food and cooking." She explained as she was led onwards by her mother. Before to long they were in front of a large gate that even in the noonday sun had shadows cast over it completely. They didn't have to wait long before the gate was opened by a fairly young-looking woman with her hair in a low ponytail. Her skin was slightly pale, and her eyes were a dark color that was difficult to discern in the shadows over her face.

"Oh perfect timing I was just coming out to see if you would be here." Her voice rang out as she opened the gate more fully allowing Naruto to see past her to a heavily wooded area with several deer milling about in the shade. There were people leaning against trees and looking at the skies all around her. While looking around he even saw a man laying on the underside of a tree branch with the chakra sticking exercise.

" Naruto this is Yoshino Nara the wife of Shikaku Nara and mother of Shikamaru who you will be meeting shortly." Ino's mom said as way of introductions. Naruto moved forward and bowed to the woman.

"Thank you for allowing me to enter your home and clan grounds Miss Nara, I promise to treat them with the utmost care." Naruto enunciated clearly to the woman who smiled back at him before motioning for him to raise.

" Very respectful Naruto, my son could learn from you I think." She said giving Naruto an appraising look.

Naruto was about to continue speaking with her when he felt his jacket sleeve being tugged by Ino as he began to be dragged away. He waved goodbye to her excitedly before turning and running to catch up with Ino who had let go of his sleeve and was moving toward a shaded copse of trees. Naruto easily overtook her with his insane speed and was soon slowing himself down waiting for her before matching his speed to hers as they ran into the trees.

" He is an interesting one isn't he?" Dorothy said as they began a much more sedated pace towards a large house next to the woods where the kids ran off to.

" He certainly is. Is he always that formal?" Yoshino answered in return. Her gaze was on the trees where she could still see Naruto's blonde hair flash every once in awhile.

" Goodness no. He is simply trying to make a good impression. He really is such a good boy, but he wants to make sure everyone knows he will try his hardest." The door opened before them as they slipped their shoes off. They headed into the kitchen as their conversation continued for several hours talking about Naruto, Ino, Lord Fourth, and their dear missing friend Kushina.

Meanwhile with Naruto and Ino, they had run through the woods at great speed for about a minute and a half before they came across a clearing where a kid with pineapple hair was leaning against a tree dazing, a book rested against his chest that it appeared he had been reading before he fell asleep. Ino smiled before placing a finger to her lips and then moving toward the boy quietly. Once she was close enough she poked him right on the forehead where he jerked awake and fell to the side.

" Uhg" He groaned out as he leaned up and rubbed his eyes. " That was very troublesome of you Ino, I was just getting to the good part of a dream." The boy complained before looking at Ino and by extension Naruto who was giving him a quizzical look.

" You must be Namikaze Naruto. I've seen you around the village a few times, and you are a dead ringer for Lord Fourth." He drawled out slowly as he raised one arm up stretching before he then leaned back against the tree he was on.

Naruto stared at the boy for a moment before grinning and putting his hand forward. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow before also moving his hand forward. They met at the knuckles knocking against each other before linking up and fitting their knuckles together. They both applied light pressure to each other before they matched perfectly and withdrew their hands.

" Not many people would greet an ally on the first meeting with the Konoha Symbol of Admiration." Shikamaru said with a different kind of voice to him. Ino's eyes were wide at the display not many people impressed Shika at first meeting, and even fewer intrigued the boy.

"I've heard a lot about your clan from my Nii-san, and Ino has said a lot about you specifically. I just wanted to personally show you that I think you are someone worth admiration." Naruto said in a casual sort of way, his hands linked together behind his head as he looked up through the trees at the sun.

The day broke down from there with the kids playing together until Choji showed up and introductions were done once again. Shikamaru and Ino talked about one thing or another while Naruto and Choji wrestled and ran around. Not exactly playing, but not quite hardcore training either it was more relaxed than that. They moved and played and before long the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping swiftly. They began heading back towards Shikamaru's house where they could hear Ino's mom calling for them. Ino shivered as the temperature plummeted and muttered about the cold.

" If I had known it was supposed to get this cold i would have brought a jacket."

Naruto glanced at her before removing the light coat he was wearing and handing it toward her. It was burnt orange in color and was more of a wind-breaker than anything its material light and hardy. Ino took the jacket immediately and pulled it on as they walked. The jacket was a little long on her reaching past her hips and hanging off her arms, but it did its job keeping her warm while Naruto continued his sedated pace next to the others. It wasn't long before they exited the tree line and walked in the backdoor of the house directly into the kitchen. There before them was a lot of food spread over an overly large table. Seats spread out around the table some already filled by people Naruto recognized namely the parents of the other kids. The kids all washed up and took their own places around the table before digging in and sharing food and talk generally enjoying each other's company.

Naruto laid in his borrowed bed exhausted from the day. He really enjoyed talking and playing with others, but at the end of the day after being with people he always felt more drained than anything else. He snuggled into the blankets a little further and closed his eyes drifting off to sleep wondering how Kakashi-Nii was doing out on his mission.

Kakashi was doing well on his mission, incredibly well if he was honest with himself. He had tracked his target down to a secluded town where they were attempting to lay low. A smart plan he conceded, he would lay low himself if he had just successfully ransomed the Daimyo's Cousin back to them for an extreme amount of money. His mission was simple. Kill the man and retrieve the scroll with the hidden tracking fuinjutsu on it. Kakashi dropped onto the roof silently from the tree he had been sitting on. The target had just put out his fire and was making preparations for bed. The chimney with smoke curling out of it would be Kakashi's entry point. He had his Family Sword strapped over his back, the infamous White Light Chakra Saber. A blade he had reforged with exacting specifications and then modified by himself using his family's special techniques. He sat leaned against the top of the house for the better part of an hour breath curling out in small wisps while waiting for his target to be fully asleep. Once the smoke had stopped pouring from the chimney he pulled himself to the top of the chimney and removed the cap quietly. He placed it on the roof of the building lightly so it made no noise, and was easily accessible for his exit. He then put his hands out touching the inner walls of the chimney slowing his descent stopping himself from touching the still warm coals beneath him. He moved deliberately, slowly, flipping his body position upside down sticking himself to the chimney with Chakra as he surveyed the room with only his head peaking out. It was a fairly shoddy shack with little in the way of care or upkeep being done. He saw his target sleeping ignorant of his own impending death. He slowly crawled the rest of the way down the chimney and placed his feet on the floor. It had taken him four days and nearly twenty dead ends and traps laid out for him to finally find the man. He moved across the floor stepping over various trip wires while moving his head around on a swivel looking for other not so obvious traps.

Finally he reached the man and slowly removed his sword from it's sheath. He ran a small amount of chakra through the blade, increasing its cutting ability and reducing its wind drag to zero. He lined it up carefully and took one swift swing cleaving the man's head from his resulting headless body let out a spray of blood everywhere coating the walls and the bed. Kakashi would have been sprayed himself if he hadn't grabbed the man's blanket and used it as a makeshift shield. He took the man's head and placed it inside a special sealing scroll for confirmation of his kill. He then flipped the pillow over and dumped out its contents including the marked scroll with the money and tracking Fuinjutsu inside of it.

Kakashi grinned under his mask as he verified it was the authentic scroll. He quickly climbed back up the chimney and replaced the topper with efficiency. He checked his time by looking at the stars above his head. It was still fairly early in the night. If he hurried and cut a fairly hard pace he would be back in the village a full day and a half before he was supposed to be earning himself a bonus. He lept upwards landing in the trees and immediately started channeling chakra to his legs massively increasing his speed as he launched himself forward from tree to tree.

" I'm coming home Naruto, just like I said I would, and days early to boot." He thought to himself as he left the little cabin behind him the only note of his passing being the small wifts of his warm breath on the wind.


	4. Training Days

Author note: Small note here, I generally attempt to avoid these but I was curious if you guys would be interested in a normal team set up or something modified? Let me know through PM or review. Also went back through and cleaned up the chapter before this. Also shortish chapter today sorry people.

It was to an incessant knocking that Naruto awoke to. He looked around the room eyes bleary eyed with sleep and confusion before he realized he was still with the Yamanakas. The room was comfortable and Naruto was warm under the blanket. He had almost thought about drifting back to sleep before Ino's voice came through the door.

" Naruto! Wake up! Someone saw Kakashi come through the village gates early in the morning and I want to play more before you have to leave." Naruto instantly found himself more awake than he was before. He threw the blanket off and started changing quickly into day clothes. A bright blue shirt and a pair of black ninja pants were thrown on before Naruto flung the door opened to a surprised Ino who instantly turned around and started heading outside.

The sun wasn't all the way up in the sky, instead it was lazily floating along the horizon barely three quarter of the way risen. The chill wasn't full gone from the early spring air and his breath came out in small mists. He was out the door and off to the little training area they had frequented while Naruto was here. It wasn't long before Ino joined him with a light indigo coat covering her giving her a modicum of protection form the cold. Naruto knew once they started, she would toss it aside.

" SO what are you thinking Ino? Throwing training or…?" Naruto said to her as he began stretching limbering up for whatever they would be doing.

Ino joined him in stretching before she answered, moving her limbs in small circles loosening herself up so she would have her full range of movement. " Actually I was thinking a full contact spar, no weapons. I need to know how to fight against someone physically faster and stronger than me. If you don't mind of course." Ino said as she finished her own stretching and adopted a combat ready stance her body shifted slightly to the side providing a smaller target for Naruto to aim at.

Naruto grinned at her with that big smile he had and nodded at her before taking his own stance. It was very loose mirroring Kakashi and Minato's own styles focusing on precision and speed and not just on raw strength. He stood with his back mostly straight while leaning slightly to the right his left hand was hung loosely at his side while his right was cocked at a rough angle that hand resting at the tip of his pocket. If they had been using weapons Naruto would have been at an optimal position to throw something as a preemptive strike, however since this would be a taijutsu fight it was mostly a wasted effort.

Ino looked at him in his fighting stance not recognizing it immediately and that put her on guard. She didn't wait for ihm to use his superior speed however and instead launched herself forward kicking up a small amount of water and grass from her movement. This placed her directly in front of Naruto already swinging her fist at his unprotected head.

Naruto saw the punch coming at him and swung up the arm he would normally use to throw something batting aside her hand and sweeping his leg out attempting to trip her up. He didn't wait to see if he would hit instead moving directly into his next move which was to make some space so he could reset. He accomplished this by springing backwards from the leg he didn't use to kick out with. It placed him just two steps away but that was more than enough room for him to bring his defense back up.

Ino picked herself up off the ground quickly. Flipping up to her feet left her in a decent defensive position and she planned on taking advantage of it letting Naruto come to her this time.

Naruto noted her position low to the ground not moving forward and he moved up to capitalize by jumping over her low position landing behind her while striking out at the back of her head. Ino barely had time to wrap her slender arm around his and pull on Naruto's extended arm. This left him off balance and open to Ino's follow up attack which was an open palm strike to his stomach. The blow hit true knocking Naruto's breath from him causing him to wheeze.

Naruto staggered backwards trying to regain his breath but he was harried by Ino who pushed her advantage and landed a blow on his right shoulder. Naruto finally got his breath back and clenched his teeth at the blow to his shoulder. He saw Ino moving in to strike him once again and waited for her to come. When she went for the kick to his side, Naruto instead of taking the blow slid under the kick and upset her balance by flipping her onto her back at which point he followed up with a powerful blow to her side and then while she was stunned he put his shoe to her throat. Not hard as if he wanted to crush her windpipe but the threat was there.

Ino wheezed out an "I give up" before Naruto leaned down and gave her a hand to stand up with. They reset and went at it again. Training until the other got a kill shot or immobilized the other in some way. Come the end of the training Naruto was ahead five to three. They were both sweating heavily by the time it was all over. They laid together on the ground breathing hard resting after the major physical exertion they had just partaken in.

This was the sight Kakashi witnessed as he sat in a tree nearby with a adventure Manga in his hand. In truth he had been there since a bit after their second fight but he figured it wouldn't hurt to see how they did. Overall he was impressed with both of them and he was definitely going to let Inoichi know about it. Ino had performed well versus someone who was physically faster and stronger than she was. And Naruto had shown that he wasn't some crazy berserker by constantly coming up with new plans and avenues of attack. He released a moderate amount of chakra and suddenly a second copy of him appeared silently. It knowing its mission headed out to go inform Inoichi of what he had seen and that he was treating the kids to lunch.


	5. Kawarmi Kami Redux:Bonds Forged Early

It had been a few weeks since Naruto had stayed with the Yamanaka clan and honestly he missed the excitement. The hustle and bustle of the Yamanaka's clan district was not something he had ever known before then and now that he had been introduced to it he missed it dearly. Not that there was anything wrong with Kakashi's family home, but it just wasn't the same as being able to walk out and be surrounded by the people.

"Kakashi-Nii…" Naruto let out in a quiet tone of voice, vastly different form the normal exuberance that he displayed. Kakashi looked up from the manga he was reading and looked at Naruto with his one visible eyebrow raised.

"What is it Naruto?" He had placed the manga on the couch next to him and gave Naruto his full attention.

"I was wondering, could I go out to one of the training fields and bring Ino and maybe Sasuke?" Naruto said as he stood up and placed the blunted Kunai he had been toying with into his leg pouch.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask when Naruto mentioned Sasuke. The massacre of the Uchiha clan was still a fresh scar on Konoha's face. Sasuke and his mother Mikoto were the only survivors of the massacre leaving an entire district empty, and a kill on site order for the only other Uchiha in existence. Sasuke had been going to a therapist for a week now and was pronounced fit for returning to society but the boy was different, quieter more likely to lash out. Kakashi found that he really couldn't blame him much his own experiences with the betrayal of everyone to his father giving him a clear viewpoint into Sasuke's life.

"Sure, Naruto use training ground five, it should be clear today. Remember though if any Genin or Chunin come along you guys need to clear out." Kakashi said as he stood and stretched raising one arm above his head and leaning slightly to the side. He walked over to the door and opened it just in time for Naruto to sprint past him down the path and into Konoha proper. The Hatake estate was not a large area, mostly just a large single building with more than enough rooms to accommodate the few members that had lived in Konoha. It sat on a slightly raised hill in the northern quarter of Konoha near the Hokage Monument. Kakashi moseyed his way down the path following in Naruto's trail, when he finally made it past the gates he sent a pulse of chakra to his legs and lept to the rooftops. This way he was easily able to keep up with Naruto who had to dodge through the busy streets of the village. Good reactive training but slowing when he needed to get somewhere. Kakashi followed at a bit of a distance keeping an eye on the boy as he made headway towards the Yamanaka Clan grounds. Kakashi passed several Anbu on patrol along with some Chunin out on deliveries scrolls in their hands. Naruto made his way inside the clan grounds and speed up the path toward the main house where he politely knocked on the door. Along the way he was greeted by several people who he all replied to with fervor. Naruto had made quite an impression on the Yamanaka clan when he had stayed with them and in the following weeks when he would show up from time to time. Kakashi sat on a water tower outside the district watching Naruto quickly converse with Ino's Mother before she closed the door and a few second later Ino stepped out in a purple shirt that cut off at her midriff and a pair of shorts in the same color.

Kakashi was impressed by Ino's speed as she kept a fairly even pace with Naruto as he led her out of the Yamanaka district and out into the streets. Ino took a less direct route that Naruto who seemed to enjoy the chaos of dodging the moving and bustling people on the streets. Instead Ino had done as Kakashi had and used short bursts of chakra to her legs to help her slowly ascend upwards using short hops to help her clear the main crowd. Using this method, she kept up with Naruto easily and sometimes even made headway in front of him. Kakashi was mildly impressed this girl was 6 and she already showed good enough chakra control to attempt the Leaping exercise, which while the easiest of all chakra exercises was still impressive for someone about to enter the academy. The two made quick progress over to the Uchiha district's main entrance which was right next to the main house. They knocked twice as was courteous before they entered and made their way to the door of the house. They hadn't even made it three steps inside when the door opened and Sasuke shot out of the house to meet them. Naruto gestured a few times before Sasuke nodded at the two blondes. He ran back into the house for a moment before returning out the door now adorned with weapon pouches. Kakashi felt a presence appear next to him on the roof shortly after Sasuke left the house the second time.

"Mikoto, you know I wouldn't let Naruto go out without some kind of watcher. I'll take it upon myself to add Sasuke to the list as well." He said as he watched the kids. If there was ever a match for Naruto's insane speed it was Sasuke who even though he lacked the trademarked Sharingan of his clan still easily kept up with Naruto by predicting the crowd's movement and adjusting his path to allow him ample time to move around them. Those two would be speed demons when they grew up Kakashi could see it now.

"Mm, I trust you to watch over them then Kakashi." Mikoto was crouched beside him watching the kids progress as her eyes flicked here and there the sign that her Sharingan was in full effect as she took in every detail of her surroundings. The hexagonal pinwheel of her Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly as she looked at him finally.

"I swear I won't let anything happen to them, and you know how I feel about promises." Kakashi said. In a show of respect he pulled his headband up showing her his own Sharingan. As they stared at each other their eyes slowly synchronized their spinning slowly matching pace and speed. Kakashi had learned this from his informal teaching under the Uchiha when he learned how to use his eye. It was a show of respect for two people to synchronize, it showed Unity which was a key principle among the clan.

"What will you do when Sasuke goes back to the academy?" Kakashi asked after the silence stretched on for a few moments. The kids had hit the market district so their progress practical ground to a halt as Ino had no where to jump Naruto had nowhere to sprint through and Sasuke no matter how skilled he was could not dodge that many people.

"I will return to missions, I think. Kawarimi no Mikoto has been gone for to long and they will need to be reminded that the Uchiha are still a clan to be feared." Her voice was razor sharp and Kakashi was glad that the underlying emotions were not targeted at him. Mikoto had been an A ranked assassination expert much like he before she had retired. She would need a bit of time to get back into top form, but he knew that someone such as her would never settle for anything less.

"That brings me to my next point. I know Naruto has an ongoing agreement with the clan heads for them to foster him when you are unavailable. Do you think it would be possible for Sasuke to join in on that agreement? He will need somewhere to go when I am not home." She said as she stood, the wind blowing her long black hair back.

"I will ask the next time I see them, but I doubt there will be any kind of issue. You know we all just want to help." Kakashi said as he stood following her lead. Mikoto left shortly after the only thing showing her passing was a sudden small shred of a leaf that Kakashi was sure he would have missed if he hadn't had his Sharingan active.


	6. Training Under A Clear Sky

Training ground five was slightly south of the main village and it included a swiftly flowing river, a set of wooden posts that spun when struck, and an area that had soft sand in an indentation instead of the usual hardpacked earth. These things together made it an ideal training ground for brawling or physical training and thought the kids would not know it. The area was also an excellent place to train Earth and Water-based Ninjutsu. The kids barreled into the training ground before gathering together in the sandy area.

" So, who wants to spar, and who wants to work on the reaction training?" Naruto said as he took off his jacket and began stretching out. The run had done him a lot of good for warming up, but it was never enough for him. His jacket landed against a tree nearby falling to the ground with a small thump.

" I need the reaction training actually, I'm getting really good at dodging but I need to be better." Ino's said as she stuck her hands on her hips and let out a sigh. She gave Naruto a mock punch on the arm before leaping away to the spinning posts with their wooden protrusions. She immediately launched herself at them striking hard and fast, as soon as she did the post spun around launching a protrusion at her left side which she dodged by ducking. This continued as the post begun spinning rapidly back and forth left and right Ino dodged, looking more and more like a dance than any kind of real combat.

Naruto had his eye on her as Sasuke began speaking about what the Therapist he had been seeing said. Naruto paid attention as the good friend he was, but he couldn't really tear his eye away from Ino's moving form. She would be really hard to hit in the future.

" Anyway the doctor thinks that the Genjutsu he put me under would have normally left my psyche in a really bad place, but because mom is still around she helped me a lot. I just still don't understand why he would do something. He loved the village, you know that Naruto... Right?" Sasuke said as he kept looking up into the sky his eyes unfocused as he saw something very far away.

" Of course he loved the village, he was one of the greatest ninja we had. I don't really understand it either, but I do know that there has to be more going on." Naruto said finally tearing his eyes away from Ino's combat training. He made eye contact with Sasuke and gave him his trademark grin before reaching out his knuckles, which Sasuke tapped lightly with his own before stepping back taking his fighting stance.

" Don't hold back on me Sasuke if were going to hunt down your brother we both need to be strong. So give it your all and I'll do the same!" Naruto said with such confidence that something deep in Sasuke knew he meant it one hundred percent. Sasuke nodded at him with one fist raised in front of him and the other held at his waist. This was the classic Interceptor Fist the trademark fighting style of the Uchiha.

Naruto saw the nod and nodded back at him his smile splitting his face before taking up the modified fighting style Kakashi-Nii had taught him. It was the precursor to his father's Flying Raijin, Uplifting Kaze(1) fighting style involved lots of very fast movement and misdirection, and a large number of wind and lighting techniques. The final form of the fighting style, of course, involved his father's infamous Flying Raijin Technique.

In less than a blink of an eye, the two met in the middle of the sandpit their opposite arms pushing against each other. Naruto took the initiative by lashing out a low kick while simultaneously letting off the pressure on his arms. This resulted in Sasuke flying over the top of Naruto off balance and facing the wrong direction!

Sasuke grunted as he pushed his forward momentum into a front flip correcting his positioning and launching a sweep at Naruto on the ground. Before waiting to see how Naruto would react he was already moving into an overhead axe-kick.

Naruto took the blow to his side with a grunt allowing himself to be launched slightly backward out of the reach of the devastating axe-kick that landed kicking up a large amount of sand. He flipped himself upwards in a handstand launching himself feet first at Sasuke. Naruto winced when he felt his feet connect and the resounding crack of Sasuke's jaw as he failed to dodge the kick. Naruto's victory was shortlived however as he felt his legs get grabbed, and the proceeding meeting his face had with the ground was not all that great for him.

Sasuke growled as he spit blood on the ground and launched a particularly nasty knife hand up under Naruto's ribs, from his superior position of having Naruto in his grip. Naruto let out a hacking cough as he felt his breath leave him. He was in a bad position here! In response, Naruto launches a surprisingly hard punch at Sasuke's knee forcing it to fold and in the resulting tumble, he managed to roll out and gasp drawing in the sweet air. He crouched low keeping a wary eye on Sasuke who had yet to recover. Time to steal one of his dad's tricks then. While Sasuke was still recovering Naruto grabbed a rock from the edge of the arena he had rolled toward.

While Naruto was busy setting up Sasuke had also moved to the other side of the arena limping slightly. He grit his teeth as he looked back at Naruto. That kick to the head had jarred his head and his vision was swimming slightly, waving back and forth as his sense of balance and injured knee also made the world seem off-balance. He glared when he saw Naruto beginning to charge him. One final clash then. He began moving much slower than before keeping his eyes open trying to notice everything before him when he saw it. The way Naruto's hand was clutched in an odd way tipped him off, he prepared to lurch to the side to dodge whatever was coming.

Naruto saw Sasuke tense the tell-tale sign that he had been noticed, good that was exactly what he wanted. He launched his hand tossing the rock right at Sasuke's face as hard as he could given the position he was in. Sasuke smirked as he leaned left dodging just as he had planned

" NOT GOOD ENOUGH NARUTO!" The adrenaline from the fight was coursing through him raising his voice to a manic volume, he would win this. It was at that exact moment he saw something that struck fear into him, that left him with a chill down his spine. It was the smirk on Naruto's face as he turned his body.

" Right where I want you!" Naruto stated as he lept over Sasuke's lowered form slamming his fist into the middle of Sasuke's back with the full force of his body and previous speed. " Suzume ni noru sandā!"(2) The blow slammed Sasuke into the ground with incredible force. Naruto hit the ground sliding through the sand on his shoulder. As soon as he was able he crawled over to Sasuke and flipped him over.

" You okay?" he grunted own ribs felt bruised

Sasuke let out a terrible sounding cough where Naruto was almost certain he heard Sasuke's ribs shift around. " Just fine, god that fucking hurt you jerk," he said finally after he finished coughing.

Naruto grinned at him before wincing, his own lungs fucking hurt like hell so he understood what Sasuke was complaining about. He let himself collapse on the ground next to Sasuke as he let out a content sigh. Slowly he let the sounds of the rushing water, the cool breeze, and the bright sun shining down on him.

"Naruto! Sasuke!, you lazy bums. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here."(3) Naruto cracked one eye open to see Ino standing over the two of them her hands on her hips leaning forward giving both of them an evil look.

" I saw that move you used Naruto, I figured after that you two would be wrestling around down here, but instead I find you two napping. Come on, let's get you two up and to the hospital." She gave them each a hand and helped pull them up where they both swayed dramatically for a few moments before Ino stepped between them offering a shoulder each to lean on. She soon started leading them towards the hospital grumbling along the way good-naturedly as the boys cracked jokes and poked fun at each other and her.

Kakashi followed them at a sedated pace over the rooftops, on more than one occasion he stopped an older ninja from assisting them, claiming "If they want to train that hard, they need to learn the consequence of walking back to the hospital." He said leaving them with a little grin easily seeable through his mask. The ninja deferred to his advice and before long the exhausted trio limped their way into the hospital Kakashi entering behind them just a few moments later.

Author Notes:

1:Flying Thunder God, Uplighting Breeze

2:Sparrow Riding Thunder(the move Minato uses on Obito in his fight before his death, Naruto's currently does not have a Rasengan or the ability to teleport but its still a fairly devastating move

3:If someone can tell me what this is from I will be very happy.


	7. Leaves Cast Long Shadows

It was a simple formality for the paperwork to be accepted into the Konoha Ninja Academy for Naruto. Kakashi figured he could have just sent in a paper with Naruto's name on it and they would have accepted it. Still he would do it right just because he was worried that some unscrupulous factors may try and say since the paperwork was incorrect Naruto would have to be moved or changed to a different class, and that simply wouldn't do for the sun of one of Konoha's heroes. The academy was broken down into several levels per year. There was the Clan level, the most advanced class which normally only clan children could enter due to their early training with chakra and ninja skills, though this did not disclude some very promising students from earning a place among their ranks it was still a rarity. Once again it would be a formality for Naruto to pass the extra test required to join this class so Kakashi wasn't overly worried. Next down was the Achievers class, those who scored above their peers, but lacked a core skill or asset. This class normally had the fewest students due to the underwhelming number of students who only were slightly better than their peers but were worse than the clan children. The final level of the academy was the Average level students. This would be the largest class normally, ninja who had nothing special pushing them to preform well ended up here. The class size was easily four times that of the Clan and Achiever levels combined, and many in this class would end up being career Genin, and only a small percentage would ever reach Chunin.

As Kakashi sat across from Naruto he glanced away from the paperwork and gave Naruto a critical once over. He could already spot the developing muscle in his arms, and that spoke very little of the dexterity the boy was showing by spinning a kunai through his fingers. Overall the boy was coming along nicely in his pre-schooling studies, he had a solid grounding in tai-jutsu, his chakra molding was acceptable for the level of chakra he already had. His gen-jutsu casting was honestly atrocious, but this was balanced out by the fact that as far as Kakashi and several others in the village could tell, the boy was incredibly difficult to place under any low level gen-jutsu as the caustic chakra of the Kyuubi constantly disrupted his chakra so they could not stick.

"Naruto." Kakashi said catching the boy off guard as he was so absorbed in his spinning of the kunai that he hadn't been expecting Kakashi to say anything. Thankfully he caught the kunai before it marked up the hardwood floors of the house carefully sliding it back into the leg holster, he closed the clasp on it with a click then looked up at his older brother.

"Hmm? What is it?" Naruto said as he stood up and stretched.

"When I go turn in this paperwork, your going to be tested so they can see if you pass the criteria to be placed in the Clan level class. I just wanted to know if you wanted to come with me and do that right now?" Kakashi replied easily, standing and placing one hand on Naruto's head and ruffling his hair. Naruto grinned up at his older brother before jumping and ruffling Kakashi's hair before ducking the grab Kakashi sent at him and running for the Hokage Tower where the paperwork would need to be turned in. He made it about a quarter of the way there, before he was tripped. Instead of landing hard however he rolled to his feet and kept running. A few moments later a woman with purple hair was jumping right next to him easily matching his pace while leaping backwards.

"Where you goin, Namikaze-Gaki?" She asked as she easily kept pace with him leaping backwards while he was going full speed backwards.

"Running from Kakashi-Nii." Naruto said as he dodged a couple walking through the streets holding hands, to absorbed in each other to notice the oncoming trouble.

"Oh… So, I shouldn't trip you and let him catch up?" She said with a teasing tone of voice. The resulting look of horror on Naruto's face was all the answer she really needed.

"That won't really be necessary Anko." Kakashi said as he casually hoped from rooftop to rooftop while reading from an orange adventure manga named "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja: Volume 3: Adventures in Yuki no Kuni". The way he was casually keeping up with both of them was amusing and more than one ninja stopped to look at the sight.

"Ahh Kakashi-Nii, you don't really need to retaliate for me messing up your hair, do you?" Naruto said as he started thinking of ways to dodge if Kakashi felt like diving at him. Thankfully the gods seemed to be on his side as Kakashi shrugged his shoulders before answering

"Why don't you run ahead Naruto, I'll meet you there in a few minutes. As an extra challenge see if you can figure out how to get past the Hokage's secretary without getting caught." It didn't take long for Naruto to make haste before Kakashi's good mood changed.

"Nice of you to send the brat running, what did he do anyway?" Anko said as they began walking at a much more sedated pace. Anko slowly started drifting towards her favorite dango place. Kakashi followed her letting her guide them. Before they got too far off course he exerted some of his chakra to make a shadow-clone which left towards the Hokage building with the papers. Once done he answered Anko as they walked into the small stand

"He roughed up my hair a bit and then took off running, so I had to give him a bit of a chase." He said as he signaled to the waiter what he wanted from the menu. Anko followed his example a few moments later failing to notice Kakashi slipping the waiter more than enough to cover the bill and a sizable tip.

"So, does this mean I finally get a date with the infamous bachelor Kakashi Hatake?" Anko said as she leaned on her hand propping her elbow against the table.

"Do they really call me that?" Kakashi asked exasperatedly thankful for the tea that came a few moments later as he took a sip through his mask.

"Oh yes," Anko answered with a wide smile enjoying Kakashi's discomfort. "Apparently you raising the son of the Fourth and being such a caring and attentive parent has drawn the attention of many of Konoha's bachelorettes." She said in great mirth before taking a bite of the dango that had just been delivered.

"I just haven't had time to consider a relationship…" Kakashi finally said after staring at his cup of tea for a moment. He really hadn't had time to consider a relationship between the high-level missions sending him out of the village and raising Naruto he had very little time except to relax and try not to go crazy. Not to mention his own dark past that sometimes maid him want to crawl into a hole for a few days.

"It sounds like you need something a bit more…casual. You know I just made Special Jonin. Both of our schedules are a bit crazy… If you wanted to try, I would be open to it." Anko's normally loud and booming voice was low and her cheeks shined a cute pink, not to mention the fact that she was playing with the dango stick in her hands and not making eye contact with Kakashi. She was startled out of her embarrassment by Kakashi putting his hand over hers.

"Since Naruto is going to the academy, I'll have more free time, if you want to try, I think I would like that." Kakashi said and when Anko jerked her head up to look at him he gave her a smile that was clearly visible through his mask. They stayed like that talking for at least an hour before Kakashi shuddered and said quietly to himself "Oh Naruto, why?"

Anko gave him a strange look before finishing her tea which was cooling quickly.

"Tell me on the way?" She said as she went to pay and noticed that Kakashi already had payed. She gave him an appreciative look as he walked out the door in front of her thinking to herself "Not bad Hatake, not bad at all."

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~ One Hour Ago ~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

"Ha finally made it!" Naruto's shout of joy was lost on the occupants of the room he had just snuck into, namely a Genin Team, their Sensei, and of course the famous Third Hokage, who was puffing lightly on his pipe. Naruto pushed the grate from the ventilation shaft out where it landed on the couch with a soft thud. Seconds later Naruto landed beside it, instantly dropping into a comfortable relaxing position.

"Good to see you Naruto, and an excellent entrance procedure. Did Kakashi put you up to this?" Sarutobi spoke between puffs of his pipe. While waiting on an answer he signed the mission scroll before him and motioned for the team in front of him to go with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah, he said I should try and get past the secretary without her knowing. How did you know?" Naruto asked as he sprung up from the couch and bounded over to the window looking out over the village. "Old man, this is the best view in the entire village!" Naruto's continued with a hint of aww in his voice. From here, he could see right into the busy Market District, and if he strained his eyes and stood on the very tips of his toes, he could just barely make out some of the Clan Grounds in the distance.

"Yes it is quite a view, I think the first Hokage chose this spot for the office because, he knew that looking out this window would remind future Hokage what they are protecting. Also, the reason I figured Kakashi sent you this way was to prove a point that he had brought up a long time ago, which was that the building is not secure enough. With your intrusion, I'm afraid I must agree with him, it is simply unacceptable for a child, no matter how skilled." And here he paused and looked at Naruto who had the decency to blush," Is simply unacceptable Naruto. I don't know how Kakashi plans to reward you, but I certainly think you deserve a reward for pointing out this egregious breach in security." Sarutobi explained as Naruto made his way back around the desk and sat down in one of the chairs there.

"Well I think the first Hokage was an amazing man, I mean he brought the clans together and he made the entire forest we live in." Naruto replied. "As for a reward? Uhm I don't know, why don't you pick Hokage-Sama." He finished as he didn't even know what kind of gift would be appropriate. They sat there conversing for a few minutes before there was a knocking at the window, when the Hokage turned around he saw Kakashi standing there stuck to the outside of the wall.

"Careful doing that Kakashi you may pick up the same reputation as my former student." He said jovially as he allowed Kakashi into the room.

"Well Hokage-Sama to be comp…" Kakashi never got the chance to finish his sentence before Naruto abruptly stood up and looked Kakashi in the eye.

"You're a clone, aren't you?" He said matter-of-factly, before punching the clone in the knee. It crumpled under his punch and the clone poofed out of existence. Sarutobi made an interested noise as he sat his pipe down.

"How did you know it was a clone Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked as he closed the blinds behind him." The shadow clone is renowned as the only clown that is a perfect copy of its originator, that is why it costs so…much…chakra. Naruto once you explain this to me and the Real Kakashi gets here I know what your gift will be." Sarutobi said as he made a few hand signs and three figures in black clothes and white porcelain animal masks appeared from nowhere. One who was sitting on the couch to the right of where Naruto landed almost ten minutes ago, another was crouched over the door frame leaning against the wall and finally one laying perfectly flat on the ceiling over a Bonsai Tree. "Secure the room, the hallway, the rooms above and below. I want you to throw sensing jutsu around like they are going out of style, no one may know there could be a problem with the Shadow Clone." Naruto looked around as all three began moving around the room placing tags of papers one the walls and ceilings, soon they moved out of the room. A knock was heard on the door and after being told to enter Kakashi walked through one hand in his pocket.

"Just the Jonin I wanted to see, Kakashi you now have an A rank mission, time is of the issue." Sarutobi said with no hint of mirth. "You are to gather Jiraiya, you know his normal hang outs tell him it is an emergency. Next you are to gather Danzo," Here Kakashi bristled, but stood at attention "I know you don't like him, but he is a master of the subject we are going to be discussing. Finally, you will bring Hiashi Hyuga here. When asked you will show them this sequence of hand seals." Kakashi raised his headband exposing the Sharingan which he used to memorize the extraordinarily long sequence of hand seals. After receiving them he ran back out the door leaving Naruto and Sarutobi in the room alone once again. Naruto watched all this go on with an interesting eye on the proceedings.

Roughly twenty minutes later everyone had been gathered in the room along with Naruto and Sarutobi, where they were currently waiting while Jiraiya went around and made all the pieces of paper glow brightly, before moving onto the next. Once this was done with every piece of paper he called out

"Shiringuato: Kage no Hako!"(1) Once he had done so the light in the room seemed to dim to a near twilight level. Naruto tried to look for other sources of light like outside the window or under the door or even the vent he came in through, unfortunately when he tried to look all he saw was waves of drifting smoke and an impenetrable darkness.

"Sarutobi, what is going on. Kakashi showed us all the call sign for Internal Village Problem Level Critical." Danzo spoke first, leaning on his cane heavily he looked around the room his eyes finally landing on Naruto "Is it something to do with the Kyuubi? Is there a problem Naruto?"

"No Danzo-Sama, it isn't a problem with the Kyuubi, I simply explained that I have a way to tell when Kakashi-Nii is using a shadow clone, and Hokage-Sama called for all of you." Naruto explained a little unnerved, these were very important people, and even if he had a personal connection with three of them that did not help how nervous he was.

"Well Naruto you have the floor. Please explain how you can tell us a weakness of one of our village's strongest jutsu." Sarutobi said giving Naruto a kindly smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"Good job Naruto." Jiraiya said giving him a thumbs up and letting out a bit of a laugh.

"Oh well, it's actually pretty simple…" Naruto said with some of his normal glee returning. "All you have to do is…"

Translation 1: Sealing Art: Box of Shadows. A sealing jutsu of my own design that draws on the chakra of those inside to block out light and sound from leaving or entering the area. Very high level Fuinjutsu


End file.
